Gu Heng's Price

Hashimoto's line—"You can name your own price first"—was not spoken quietly.

It was not loud.

But it was not so soft that only Gu Heng and Ichinose could hear it.

Several Class B students nearby had already turned their heads.

Farther away, people from Class D had noticed as well.

Gu Heng's fingers tightened around his terminal, its edge pressing into his fingertips.

Hashimoto remained standing at the same distance, his cuff fluttering lightly in the wind.

"When Class A discusses business, do you always like deciding other people's positions for them first?" Gu Heng looked at Hashimoto, his tone even.

Hashimoto's smile did not fade. His fingertips brushed lightly over the edge of his cuff.

"No," he said. "It's just that Sakayanagi thinks some people need to see their names already laid out on the table before the price afterward can be negotiated."

Gu Heng pressed a finger against the side of his terminal.

Ichinose lifted her eyes slightly beside him.

Her fingers loosened a little around her backpack strap, then gripped it again.

"Hashimoto, doesn't Class A's approach seem a little too much like poaching people?"

"Just an exchange." Hashimoto raised a hand, smoothing his cuff flat. "After all, information flow during a special exam isn't against the rules."

"A free exchange?" Gu Heng suddenly asked.

Hashimoto looked at him.

"Not necessarily," he said. "That's why we came to discuss the price."

Gu Heng neither agreed nor refused outright.

Instead, he swept his gaze around the area first.

The Class B students nearby were still standing there.

Even the two Class C students who had been walking close by had stopped.

Gu Heng tucked his terminal more firmly into his palm, without lowering his voice.

"We can talk," Gu Heng finally said.

Ichinose's fingers tightened around her backpack strap.

Hashimoto did not move, but the corner of his mouth lifted another fraction.

"But not now," Gu Heng continued. "And it won't be a free talk."

"How do you want to negotiate?" Hashimoto asked.

Gu Heng raised the terminal in his hand.

"If Class A wants to know something, lay out your needs first."

"Whether I'm willing to give it depends on the price."

"If I want to know something, you should also show what you can offer first."

"You coming to ask doesn't mean I have to answer."

"You call it an exchange, but I have no obligation to waste my time with you for nothing."

The people who had been tilting their heads to watch paused. Even the two Class C students did not edge any closer.

Hashimoto smoothed his cuff flat, and his posture became slightly more proper than before.

"You really have no intention of being polite at all," he said.

"Why should I be polite?" Gu Heng countered. "You aren't here to do charity, and neither am I."

Ichinose frowned slightly beside him.

She opened her mouth, then swallowed her words, her fingers gripping her backpack strap again.

"Then what if Class A wants your judgment on the first round's target area right now?" Hashimoto continued.

"Fine." Gu Heng nodded.

"And the price?"

"Your route preferences for the next two rounds, plus an assessment of a supply window." Gu Heng looked at him. "And it has to be something whose truth can be verified. Don't try to fob me off with empty words."

Hashimoto raised an eyebrow.

"You're asking quite a lot."

"You didn't ask for little either," Gu Heng said.

Hashimoto's shoulders relaxed slightly, and his smile finally spread fully.

"Fine," he said. "I'll take those terms back exactly as they are."

"But let me give you a warning in advance."

"What?"

"From the moment you said, 'It won't be free,'" Hashimoto said leisurely, "it won't just be Class A that remembers you."

Gu Heng nodded.

"I know," Gu Heng answered evenly, without even lowering his final note.

"Good."

After saying that, Hashimoto did not press the matter further. He turned and left.

The Class B students nearby did not immediately turn away, and the two Class C students were still standing there.

Even over at Class D, people shifted their gazes from Hashimoto's retreating back to Gu Heng.

Ichinose sighed softly.

"After answering like that, what people will remember is that you put a price on everything first."

"No." Gu Heng corrected her. "They'll know I'm not someone who answers whoever comes asking."

Ichinose looked at him.

"Is there a difference?"

"There is," Gu Heng said. "First, let them know what they can ask for, and what they can't take for free."

Ichinose did not respond right away this time.

Ichinose smoothed down her backpack strap and spoke only after two seconds.

"But that will also make a lot of people more wary of you," she said softly.

"Then let them be wary," Gu Heng said.

A faint sound of breath suddenly came from beside them.

Ayanokoji.

His footsteps had been so light that he only appeared beside them after that sound fell.

The coffee can was still clasped between his fingers, but it had stopped spinning a long time ago.

"What?" Gu Heng asked, turning his head.

"Nothing." Ayanokoji's tone was flat. "I just confirmed something."

"What?"

"You really aren't suited to pretending to be easygoing."

Gu Heng snorted.

"That's quite the fresh evaluation."

"Most people who reach this point would first try to make themselves seem more agreeable." Ayanokoji looked at him. "You didn't."

"Even if I pretended, it wouldn't look convincing," Gu Heng said.

Ayanokoji did not reply. The coffee can stopped between his fingers, its bottom lightly resting against his palm.

When Gu Heng returned to the Class D group, Hirata came over immediately.

"What did Class A want to discuss with you?"

"Information," Gu Heng said.

"You agreed?"

"I agreed to talk." Gu Heng handed the water pouch back to him. "I didn't agree to give anything away for free."

Hirata paused for a beat, and the water pouch crumpled softly in his hand.

"You said that directly?"

"What else was I supposed to do?"

Hirata opened his mouth. It took him a long while to continue.

The water pouch in his hand made a faint crinkling sound as he squeezed it.

"Aren't you afraid that after the other classes hear that, they'll decide you're difficult to work with?" he asked in a lowered voice.

"I am." Gu Heng nodded. "But it's still better than letting them come test me first."

Hirata's grip on the water pouch loosened slightly, and in the end, he still sighed.

"Your way of doing things really doesn't leave yourself any room to smooth things over."

Gu Heng did not respond.

At that moment, Horikita also walked over.

"I heard what you said over there."

"And?"

"You said it out loud." Horikita tucked her clipboard into the crook of her arm. "So other people saw you too."

"Mm."

Horikita said nothing more.

She lowered her head to look at the clipboard, the tip of her pen pressed to the paper, but she did not hurry to continue writing.

Just then, a small commotion suddenly rose from not far away.

A Class D boy crouched down, his face pale. One hand braced against a tree while his chest heaved rapidly.

Hirata immediately went over to support him.

"What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing. I just ran a little too hard during that stretch earlier..."

As soon as he said that, someone beside him muttered quietly:

"His stamina will collapse first sooner or later."

Gu Heng turned off his terminal.

Before the second round that evening, a similar rumor had already begun circulating vaguely around the outer perimeter.

"Class D's new standout isn't giving anything away for free."

Over by Hirata, people had already begun turning to look at the terminal in his hand.

But within Class D as well, people had begun blaming their exhaustion on Gu Heng.